Beyond Duty and Blood
by Donaire
Summary: Sakura didn't expect figth in a War more than once in her life. And the fellowship didn't expect a pink-haired woman with mounstrous force joining them. AU. Realistic and Sligth Dark Sakura. Mature themes. Slowburn! Aragorn x Sakura or Legolas x Sakura.
1. Prologue

**Author's note**

1- I don't own Naruto or Lord of the Rings.

2- Slow Updates

3- It contains themes like violence, torture, seduction and some minors mental damages;

4- May contain mistakes in my grammar (few, hopeful) because english is not my first language;

5- The romance will be really slow and It's Sakura x Aragorn. Possibly. I'm still not sure if I do some Legomance, I'll decide later.

* * *

**The Spark**

There was a time when she was young and stupid, she remembered thinking:

_"The job of a ninja is awesome. They're cool and really Strong. It'll fit myself." _Okay, she was not awesome neither confident enougth but she could'nt imagine being anything else than shinobi. Her parents were ninjas. Her grandfathers possibly died in war. Her parents were kind and didn't pressure her. In fact, they told her to think really hard and carefull about it. A carefull consideration was made by her as they told. So she said:

"I'll be a ninja."

And the proud look in her parents confirm tha she was doing the rigth thing. But there was also a sad looking on her parentes.

When she was eleven years old she saw Sasuke almost died in front of her eyes. She saw Naruto turning in something red and corrupted with so much anger. The place was Wave. The crack started. But she didn't pay attention. How foolish she was.

When she was twelve years with the Chunnin Exams, the so expected event that could put her team on a better position, a high level of ninja – better then the low rank genin – there were enemys dangerous too. They were almost the same age as her but she felt they could killed her with no hesitation. And she was cared. Her teammates were uncounsciouns. It hits her like shit on the face. She was just playing ninja. Theory means nothing in death's face. Sasuke was hurt. Naruto was hurt. Kakashi sensei wasn't there. She was alone and vunerable. The enemy grabed her by the hair and no one could save her. She was angry, desesperated and needing some changes. So she cut her hair and left that part of her behind. It was what she thougth. As lamentable as could be -reflectint about, cuting her hair was not a big deal but It wasn't useless or futile. Not for her. The only thing she regrets was that she didn't realize before. That voice in her mind wich make her guilty and useless was silented with train and more train. She didn't grow all alone. Deep inside, she thanks to Naruto and Tsunade. As in love as she was for Sasuke she never had that kind of felling, that gratitude, for him.

Sakura was growing up. She had what it takes to be a ninja.

_"Be stronger. Be smarter. To keep yourself alive."_

When she was thirteen she killed someone. It was a patient. Tsunade herself told there was nothing that could done. With tears Sakura asked why herself was trying healing if there wasn't a point since the begin. The harsh replic was:

"You need pass trought It by your own hands."

Her second time killing was for surviver. By that time, she didn't killed anyone because she wanted. She kills for necessity. She felt bad, but still tougth that being a ninja as a high honor.

* * *

**The Flames**

Then fourteen years old came and she learned about times when ninjas don't have a single piece of honor.

And there are things that she never told no one, but the day after a simple walk of shopping, she burn her old clothes. Her mother never asked why there was a glance of blood in her clothes and why Sakura forgets the milk. Even if some hours after a man's body was found with his balls missing.

The girl didn't murmur not a bit when the most part of time she was on the hospital. Healing other was better than hurting others.

There was another deaths. Most time, she need to do.

But once in a while she just wished doing that. As merciless as it seens she didn't felt guilty for that deaths.

At fifteen she stoped counted how many she had killed. She keeped count how many she saved, tough.

* * *

**The Embers**

Sixteen, the red hair puppet took a piece of her. There are moments she was in danger but never so close of her own death. Breathless, with the katana in her stomache, blood in the floor, she realized she wasn't frightening. It was not the calm type of acceptance. It was just... Given up. Like that. Easy. Of her own life. So she try hard satying alive for Chyo-sama. For someone else. For anyone else. She put more and more in her mind, involuntarily - do It for them. For your precious people. For the next generations. She gradually started forgettng about herself.

"Be stronger. Be smarter. To keep _them_ alive."

Sixteen, the man she loved tried kill her.

Sixteen, she tried kill the man she loved.

Seventen, war happened. War, destruction and blood, honor and duty. It's life and death. Hope and dispair. Loneless and Warm.

Seventeen, she was too lost for care the way she moved in front of Sasuke and Naruto.

Seventeen, the red of sensei's eyes look at her in panic - she never saw him like that. With so much sorrow. And guilty.

It happens at the same time. A torcion in realitty. Chidori. Rasengan. Mangekyou sharingan.

_Pain. Pain. Pain_.

And then she find herself in another place, diferent from what It was just a second before.

Seventen, she was bleeding in the grass floor, under strange trees with an unknown constelation in the sky.

Seventen, a creature murmuring in a language she couldn't understand was walking near. She tried move, but It was difficult. A dark, stink thing cames out.

"Maybe Its not an enemy."

The thing yell something and It was about to throw the axe in her head but Sakura's instinct and adrenaline made her the kunai in her holster and puting chakra and speed aiming for the creature. It pierce the throat. She look with disgusting the black fluid instead of red blood.

"For the God's sake. Where the hell Am I?"

Seventen. War happened. She survived.

But now she don't know where she is and how to came back.


	2. Tainted

**Author's note**

1- I don't own Naruto or Lord of the Rings.

2- I really want to thanks **MeraHunt, Dragongirl92, BobaLoca and bipbipbip010101. **All of you make me feel like I can improve my skills and I'm glad you guys see potential in this story. I'll do my best to bring an good story and correct my mistakes as writting this fanfiction.

3- Thanks to the favorites and followers as well!

* * *

The moon ligth shone trough her eyes as she stared the corpse for a few more seconds. She grunted in pain when felt the bruises.

_"I need to heal It."_ She had problems healing at first and finished feeling tired but at least without much pain. While she tied her hurt chest with pieces of her clothes an strong and weird sensation of being watched made her uneasy. She wobbled but run away the very moment she suspect that someone was watching her. The feeling just grow, so she stopped.

_"What's It?"_ Sakura inhale and close her eyes with focus. Almost immediatly an energy pass by her body like a wild breeze. It was full of emotions - malicious happiness and anger, like a celebration an successfully revenge. That simple breeze hitting her with that energy made her understand It was praising her and at the same time was suspicious of her.

_"Is It... The Forest?"_ Her green eyes look around carefully and notices that the forest was actually almost alive. Alive and glad because she killed that creature.

_"I need some sleep If I'm really thinking that the Forest is gratefull."_ She sigh. _"Am I out of my mind already? Geez. It's not alive."_

However, the girl stayed the whole nigth watching the trees with caution. Despite being tired, the warrior slept for only three hours.

When she woke up the first thing she notices was the smell of blood. Kunai on hands she look her surroundings just to find an fox dead near. She blinked.

"It's a bit familiar..."

She suddenly was aware of the blood in her hands and clothes.

"Oh." Sakura sighs. She had a dream about being on frontlines and punching the enemys until their bones were broken and the internal organs crushed by her bare hands. It looks like It wasn't just a dream.

"Fuck. I don't even remember killing that. Guess It's a good thing It wasn't a human."

She look above, the sun not showing yet. The Forest was quiet. Her chest felt uneasy.

_"Too calm."_

Somehow she couldn't help but wait for an atack. The enemy. Any Killing Intent. As the time pass her face turn more dark and nervous. She waited for something and could swer there was danger. She move with caution.

_"It's okay to be carefull. I'm an unknown place." _She look for her holster and bag of supllies.

_"12 shurikens, 9 kunais, 1 wire for traps, 4 tags. That's so little. Uh. Just two dry meals... Oh. I still have 8 soldiers pills. Good. And one scroll..."_

Her mind freeze as she stare at the scroll. Hands shaking and heart beating fast. The smell of blood and fire. The memories.

* * *

She was in the battlefield again, searching for hurt soldiers and there was an heavy mist. People's screaming all over. She saw a woman with crushed brain. She saw the eyes of a soldier in the very moment he loses his mind and soul. And the boy. It was suppused to be a squad to provide ration and medicine. They're not suposed to get in the middle of an batlle. Her hands touch his face, he was about 12 years. When his brown eyes in pain look at her the time stopped. His voice was trembling.

**_"You came to save me?" _**

**_"Yes. Yes. Everything is gonna be alrigth."_** She lied. There was a high chance of him not surviving. Just by looking she could tell the lungs were beyond what she could do in front line. There was a time when she could make the impossible for the kid. Even with a minimun chance of surviving. But War happened and even if she heal the boy he would not figth again. She needed use the chakra for someone who could figth again.

**_"Sakura, we need to move. The batlle is coming in this direction."_**The kunoichi who was escorting her said. Sakura already release his pain. He was numb. She start moving when his hands - so small and with blood - grab hers.

_**"Don't leave me."**_

That's It. The most heard words so far. Because when the soldiers are dying they unexpectedly don't fear death. They don't ask for release the pain. They just wanted someone to be with. Someone who could remind the reason why they are fighting for.

She put a fake smile.

**_"I'll be back." _**

Lie.

**_"I'll pick some medicine and instruments. You'll be fine."_**

All lies.

_**"...Scared. I'm scared. Please, don't go."**_The tears on his face made her heart broke a bit more.

"**_Sakura."_** The woman called again. The pink haired doctor ignored and gently put the kid's head in her legs as a pillow. He was still crying.

**_"Boy, what's your name?"_**

**_"Akito."_**Sakura smilled. There was a gasp beyond them in admiration. Sakura's hand never let the boys hand. He saw an angel smilling at him with so much tenderness in her green eyes and smilled back.

**_"I'll stay with you."_**She repeat a few times while his eyes were sleepy her chakra slowly make the pain and his life go away.

_"It's all I can do. Sorry. Sorry, boy. I'm really sorry I didn't come to save you."_

* * *

One solid minute pass and the scene change again, gradually turning the Forest again. Her eyes still on the scroll.

_"I'm a monster."_ Sakura felt pain and bit her lips while trying keep her emotions in control. She did not open but know that Akito's name was the last one added. The scroll of those who died in battle.

_"I don't have the rigth. Why Am I always like that? It's not the time and the place to be a crybaby."_

The Forest was watching her with curiosity and she felt unconfortable in how It seemed conected with her. Well she really felt they're alike when she first felt the Forest.

**They're both tainted.**

_"Time to recognize the territory."_

_"Uh?"_ It was what she think looking at the village with small people walking on the streets. She was on the Forest's border. She discover a river and stop to eat the food just once. She improve her vision with chakra and confirm she wasn't in any of five nations. She never learned about little mans with big foots neither about that unique architecture. There was a few of people who was in the rigth heigh but for this time she will watch how they act. On the top of the trees, not much close of the village neither away she look at the citizens. She was staying at the Forest. She notices they don't seem to like walking by and somehow the Forest was the only thing she was familiar with. It was and odd and aware Fosrest but yet a Forest. It reminds her home.

Sometimes the noisy and warm laughs made her wanted to talk with them.

_"Damn, control yourself, girl! You're just onde day alone."_

* * *

Her eyes close for a moment. The next thing she knew was the feeling of danger. Breathless she crushed the weapon with that was coming in her directions, looking for the adversary. She throw two shurikens instinticvely. There was an a lot of Killing Intent and just after being totally estatic she notices there was no weapon. It was just a piece of branch. Shocked, she realize that was her own Killing Intent growing.

As the trees were showing disapproval she wasn't able to sleep again.

On the next morning It was her hunt time. She explored more about the Forest and make an bird's clone to watch the village. By the second nigth she decides to infiltrate the Village and search for a place where she could bath properly. Sakura enter easily and with the informations of the bird's clone she found an hostel with a public bathroom - or somenthing like that. A bit more rustic and with an well and some stool. She couldn't find any wattering pool. She steal some food of the storage and quickly return to the Forest.

She could have modify her apparence for disguise but...

"I may kill someone." As a doctor she knew rigth now she was a danger for other. It usually hapens to ninjas even before the War. Actually It was pretty normal after a stressfull mission. She knew It could take some days until she could control herself again.

So she wait a little more and keep exploring the boundarys of the Forest. Sakura discovers more villages and heard from the ocassionaly travellers about the place - she didn't undestand really well since It was a different language. The only way she could understand some was the times Tsunade made her study another languages and she took interest. This language was similar of one that she studied in her fourteen. Exploring the Forest, hunting and recovering energy. That's how she spent her first week.

* * *

She was next to another border of the Forest and It was a mist day.

Sakura feel their presence from far way and Sakura was alert. Like they're intruders. She immediatly felt like kicking out them and It takes five seconds to her think clearly and realize It wasn't her emotions but the trees intent. The teenager touch one of the trees, caring.

"Thanks."She whisper aware of how she feel a deep conection with the Forest. Sakura breathed slowly and decide to just look who these people are.

It was her chance to looking them close and discover more about this world. Now that she was able to distinguish her feeling from Forest's feelings she was really curious and anxious.

Soon she saw four small figures and a pony from above. She was hidding on the top's trees.

_"Let's see how they are."_


End file.
